Catriya
' ' '''Catriya '''is one of the oldest regions of Thossos. It has been home to a succession of powerful nations. Its history reaches back nearly 10,000 years, and today is one of the most diverse and culturally powerful places in the world. Catriya named for the Kottri, a powerful kingdom that ruled the region in the 4th millenium PC. History Catriya was first settled almost 9,000 years ago when man migrated around the southern edge of the Sistillian Mountains and into the continental interior. Early humans quickly settled around the Thressen river, and established agriculture and villages in the river valley to the north. Thossos' first city, Kas Kye, was founded where the Thressen and Amar rivers meet. The city became the center of the Amarya culture around 8,500 PC. They held a tenuous grip of the region, with borders often fluctuating. The Amarya were ultimately displaced in 7850 PC by the Kelorians, in an event called the Kelorian Conquest. The Kelorians held the region firmly until their Disappearance in 3550 PC. During The Chaos, Catriya again was loosely held by a series of tribes. But by 2800 PC, the Kottri had wrestled control of the Thressen from thier enemies. They grew rich in trade to the north and west, gradually coming to rule most of the plains. They would dominate the area until Thossos claimed Kas Kye in 2396, and Catriya became a province of the Thossian Empire. After the fall of Thossos in 0 AC, Catriya was claimed by the Republic of Catriya, a populist movement seeking to claim the region in the name of the ancient Kingdom. The movement was successful, and it rules in Kas Kye to this day. Geography At the heart of the Catriyan region are the Rynissan Plains, encompassing most of the area. They reach from just north of Iniar, and stretch to the northeast, covering much of the Thressen river valley. The plains are agriculturally rich and relatively wet, seeing seasonal rainfall from the south. To the south the foothills of the Sistillians linger, leading the area to be more hilly than the north. To the far east of Catriya, the Amar Desert begins. The area is much drier and rockier than the plains, but the careful management of the Amar River allows farming. To the north the terrain is much more uneven, being defined by rolling hills and some rocky depressions. Despite being mostly flat, Catriya is difined the exansive river valleys of the Thressen and Amar, which cut into the landscape in the heart of the region. Climate Catriya is defined by the temperate Rynissan plains, and the temperature is relatively stable and warm. Moderate but consistent rainfall make the area among the most fertile in Thossos. The southern plains, near the mouth of the Thressen, is among the wettest parts of Thossos, and supports dense and warm forests, fed the strong seasonal rains of the Southern Sea. Sometimes northern Catriya can see snow in the winter, but this is unusual and limited only to the immediate coasts of the Great Bay. Culture Language The original languages of the region, members of the Catriyan Language Family, have almost all gone extinct. The most famous of these languages was Kelorian, though today it exists solely in written form. The majority language today is called Camlen, a language in the Amyrian family. It is a descendent of Ancient Thossian, brought to the region by the Thossian Empire in the 2330s. Along with Camlen, there are several other Amyrian dialects with sizable minorities in Catriya. Along the border regions, Sistillian languages such as Rorish can be heard. Category:Regions